News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-12-15
FROM WASHINGTON.
from our Regular correspondent
WASHINGTON, D. c., |
Dec. 5, 1887.

WASHINGTON, D. c.,
Dec. 5, 1887.
To-day the Fiftieth Congress meets.
At its close the great popular body of
the National Legislature will have ex-
listed one hundred years. In many
respects the new convocation will diff
fer from any Congress that has as
sembled since the beginning of the
great war, especially in the number OF
new members. Of the three hundred
and twenty-five who sat in the Forty
Ninth Congress, one hundred and
thirty were retired.
The session opens with but one I'M
portant question demanding the at
tention of Congress The reduction
of the revenues of the government
To the settlement of this problem al
other questions must be subordinated
and yet there is much important leg
islation that may well be undertaken
The approach of another Presidential
contest promises to make party lines
somewhat more prominent than they
were in the last Congress. But il
must be admitted that even on the
question of revenue reduction neither
party in the lower branch is a unit,
and whatever settlement may be
reached it is not likely to count for
much as party victory.
A change has come over Washing
ton in the past week. Day and night
many people are upon the street, and
among them large number of stran-
gers. In the evening the hotel lob
bies are crowded. Every day the
Senators and Representatives and
their attaches-followers and proteges
and hangers on--have been arriving
in great numbers, until now the city
is full almost to its winter measure,
The lobties at Wizards, the Riggs
the Arlington, the National and the
Metropolitan are packed with Con
gressmen and people who want some
thing of Congressman. The new
members, who are credited with less
experience, are attended by larger
number of people who want place
than the old members, whose expert
ence has made them sadder and wiser.
Still there are very few who have not
some proteges in charge, whether they
like it or not. The place hunters are
devoting themselves to the members ,
and the latter are shifting about to
find other shoulders on which to rest
them.
There are lots of small places I'M
der the officers of the House-pages.
messengers, door-keepers, folders and
clerks under various titles, and there
are the clerks to the committees, who
are practically private secretaries to
the chairmeu. But all told there are
not half enough places to 60 around,
and many of these are filled by men
and boys whose members are still in
Congress and must be considered.
All the employees of the House whose
members have been kept at home will
have to go, probably, unless they
have managed to transfer their claims
to some other fortunate Representa-
!, tive. And these employees dependent
= upon=the influence -members-wht
have happened to get on the wron4
side of any contest will have to go
The new place hunters are on hand ir
numbers, and some of them must bt
provided for.
The fashionable pleasure Of life in
the Capital City are constantly in.
creasing, and now a new attraction is
to be offered in the institution of the
"Washington Riding Academy" The
list of subscribers includes the names
of prominent officials and many of the
leaders of society in our midst, the
President and members eff the cabinet
being among them. This fact insures
its success. Philadelphia, Baltimore
New York, Chicago, and all the large
, cities of the country have for years
supported and enjoyed academies o.
this kind, but none of them will exec
this new departure in Washington
All the arrangements have been made
on the most extensive and elegan
scale. The opening of the academy
will be attended by the New YorE
Riding Club, who will take part in the
pleasant affair. 1t will doubtless b.
one of the most agreeable social event:
of the season.
During the past summer a lady
might have been seen almost any fine
morning in the business sections o.
Washington on shopping expedition
Attached to bangle at her wrist by
a long slender silver chain was dim.
inutive turtle, which, if it had no 9TH
er accomplishment, was an expert in
the matter of climbing, for its favor
lite resting place seemed to be on her
shoulder. When the owner of this
strange pet alighted from the carriage
to chat with friend before entering
one ofthe stores, the turtle was care
fully placed upon the Pavement, and
where it crawled about at the end OF
the silver chain, greatly to the delight
of the small boys of the neighborhood.
At the approach of the winter the tur-
tie has been abandoned for the supe-
rior charms of lovely skye dog.
LENOx.
An important conference of wool
growers and wooden manufacturers was
held at Washington, Monday. Earnest